Almost two years ago, I told you about the proposed renovation of the dusty old food court at 1315 Third Street Promenade. Well, it has taken them long enough, but the flashy new Gallery food hall is now open. But don’t get yours hope up yet. Only McDonald’s has reopened and Subway is expected to soon as well, but other than that, nothing else has moved in yet.
It’s been a week of juice news. I recently noticed that Santa Monica’s branch of healthy drink provider Orchard Flats Cold Pressed Juicery has closed its doors at 705 Montana Ave. And their other locations in Burbank, Studio City, La Canada Flintridge, and on Melrose have closed as well, according to Yelp. So it looks like this is the end of yet another juice shop. Could this be a trend? Hmmm…
2016 is turning out to be a rough year for restaurant closures. The latest? While there’s no hard evidence except a disconnected phone line, it appears obvious that one of Santa Monica’s long-standing fixtures, George’s Bistro has unceremoniously closed its doors at 1321 Third Street Promenade. The windows are papered over and the furniture has been removed. There’s no word on a replacement, but I’ll keep watch.
On a tip from a reader (thanks DS!) I went to check out what was going on in the old La Cachette Bistro space at 1733 Ocean Ave. in Santa Monica. An ABC application posted in the window informs us that the space, which has long sat vacant, will soon be inhabited by a branch of Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern. It looks like they’ve got a way to go and there’s no word on an opening date, but until then, you can read more about the mini-chain here.
Back in 2013, I noticed a new yogurt shop had opened on Bedford Dr. in Beverly Hills. Since then, Go Greek Yogurteria has opened two more locations and has two more on the way. One is coming to Corona Del Mar, and the other is set to land in Santa Monica. Signs are up in the window of what must be a very choice location at 1431 Ocean Ave. (in the Pacific Plaza building) indicating that creamy treat shop is on the way. Go Greek offers a menu of frozen and fresh Greek yogurt with toppings or in combination bowls that you can read more about here.
I guess we haven’t seen the end of the whole frozen yogurt thing quite yet… Shops continue to pop up like weeds. The latest? It looks like the newly remodeled shopping center on the southwest corner of Lincoln Blvd. and Pico in Santa Monica is about to get its very own Yogurtland soon.
Located just to the left of upcoming Espresso Cielo at 1431 B 2nd St., signs are up in the window indicating that the new tenant will be an outpost of Belgian chocolate purveyor KC Chocolatier. With a flagship in Chicago, KC is an offshoot of Kim’s Chocolates from Tienen, Belgium. No word on an opening date, and it looks like they’ve a way to go, but I’ll keep my eye on it…
We’ve long known that the renovation of the erstwhile dusty old Laemmle Theater at 1332 Second Street in Santa Monica was going to bring us (possibly) two new restaurants. And now we know for sure what one of them will be. A recently posted ABC license application informs us, and the company website confirms that a branch of Arizona’s earthy eatery Flower Child is on the way to the sparkling new movie palace. Offering a menu that is organic, locally sourced, and additive free, Flower Child promises “healthy food for a happy world”. No word on an opening date, and construction is fast and furious, but I’ll keep watching…
For many restaurateurs and businesspeople, opening a new food spot in Santa Monica can be a nightmare. Red tape and delays make the process a long, dragged out affair. (Am I right Lemonade, Creams & Dreams? And Caffe Primo… we feel your pain.) But for some magical reason known only to the god of multinational coffee chains, a new Starbucks can open in days in the notoriously challenging city. It was only back in mid-October that I told you about a new branch of the ubiquitous coffee purveyor being built on the ground floor of Santa Monica Place near Bloomingdale’s. One month and a half later, Starbucks is open and probably giving Ugo Café a run for its money.
Back in January I told you that signs on the construction site of the new Arclight Cinemas, being constructed out of thin air atop Bloomingdale’s, indicated that the new theater would feature a café and full bar. Well, now the wait for a boozy movie is over. Arclight Cinemas opens today (November 20th) in Santa Monica Place and the posters declare that you can take your drink into the theater with you. Cheers!
Well that didn’t take long… It was only back in mid-August that I first noticed that the LA area was about to get its first branch of Santa Barbara’s popular ice cream shop Rori’s Artisanal Creamery. And now, only about two months later (a miracle in Santa Monica), they appear ready to throw open their doors at 910 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. Rori’s Artisanal Creamery will have its grand opening this Saturday, October 17th at 11:00am according to their Facebook page and the flyers that have blanketed the city.
To the many of you who have been carefully following this story with great excitement comes this happy news: The Brixton will finally throw open its doors this Saturday September 26th at 11:30am. What on earth took so long? You may remember that back in March of 2014 I told you about The Brixton’s impending arrival to the corner space at 2827 Pico Blvd. (corner of Yorkshire) in Santa Monica that used to house The Joker. Apparently the City of Santa Monica had been up to its old shenanigans with an unreasonable amount of demands including a retrofit. But all of that is behind us now. During the soft opening, Chef Joe Sharp has developed a limited menu of 16 items that will eventually be increased. Look for such things as: macaroni and cheese with bacon, crab, scallion and smoked cheese; romesco and goat cheese dip; short rib poutine; mussels in a coconut dill cream sauce ; flatbreads; and flank steak. The focus is on share plates. There are also 10 beers on tap as well as 16 wines on tap. The Brixton will be open 365 days a year from 11:30am until Midnight with a daily happy hour from 3:30pm until 6:30pm. Read more at their Facebook page here.
It looks like yet another icy treat shop is hitting the Westside… New York frozen “dessert” brand Tasti D-Lite and sister company Planet Smoothie appear destined for the same space at 526 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica. Besides smoothies (obviously), the concept here is two dairy bases, one vanilla and one chocolate, upon which a multitude of flavors are added producing a dessert with significantly fewer calories than ice cream or frozen yogurt. No word on an opening date although they must be behind as the website promises an early 2015 opening, but I’ll keep watching…
It looks like Montana Ave. in Santa Monica is about to get not just one, but two icy treat shops soon. Recently, I told you about the impending arrival of Santa Barbara’s Rori’s Artisanal Creamery. A little over a block away, signs have gone up in the window of 908 Montana that used to house a scent store (yes, it did exist) announcing that Frozen Fruit Co. will soon be inhabiting the space. According to the window display, FFC specializes in “frozen fruit swirls”. I can’t seem to locate a great deal of information, and their website is still being built, but you can follow their progress on Twitter here.
With locations in Santa Barbara, it appears that popular ice cream shop Rori’s Artisanal Creamery is expanding south. Signs recently went up in the windows indicating that the LA area’s first Rori’s will be located at 910 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. No word on when the organic icy treats will be first available, and it looks like they’ve still got a way to go, but I’ll keep watching…
While all eyes have been on the glitzy The Point development in El Segundo with its hipster dining and retail stores that opened last week, I’ve been keeping watch on another massive, yet less glam and more work horse development also coming to El Segundo. Back in February of this year, I told you about the giant multi-use complex Elevon that was in development near the corner of Imperial and Douglas that promised office, retail, and dining space. Still mostly under construction, I’ve been awaiting restaurant announcements. Well ladies and gentlemen we have our first restaurant. Signs have gone up announcing that Bowl of Heaven will soon inhabit one of the spaces. With locations throughout California, BoH offers a menu of acai bowls, smoothies, and juices that you can read more about here. Incidentally, according to the website, looks like Santa Monica can expect a branch soon as well…
I’m not entirely sure what’s going on here, but I’ve noticed a lot of recent activity at the site that used to house Caffe Bello at 1912 Broadway Suite 100 in a quiet residential neighborhood of Santa Monica. Caffe Bello apparently closed earlier in the year. But signs have recently gone up (as well as a giant wall photo of Marcello Mastroianni in an homage to Federico Fellini’s famous film) announcing that the new lunch spot will be called Caffe 8 1/2. The door promises a menu of classic Italian faves including panini, focacce, tiramisu, and espresso. Let me know if you have more info, but in the mean time, I’ll keep my eye on it…
Back in December of 2012, I told you about a new healthy café that had just arrived at 1426 Montana Ave. #5 in Santa Monica. Since then, Pulse Café had made quite a sensation among the yoga crowd with its signature hot smoothies and organic boba. Sadly however, it appears that Pulse Café has given up the ghost, possibly due to stiff competition from nearby Beaming, Kye’s, and any number of other juice joints that crowd the street. The space has been cleared out and there are prominent “for lease” signs in the window. I’ll keep my eye out for replacements…
Back in December of last year, we learned from Eater that simplethings, the cozy sandwich shop well-known for their amazing pies, was intending to open a branch in Santa Monica. Simplethings has quietly slipped into the space at 800 Wilshire Blvd., right smack dab on the corner of Lincoln and is now up and running. With three other locations across LA, they offer a menu of sandwiches, breakfasts, salads, and of course pie that you can read more about here.
Expanding Mexican chain Benny’s Tacos has quietly slipped into the space left behind by the departed The Slice pizza joint at 915 Wilshire Blvd. Recognizable by their large-eyed mascot who adorns their ubiquitous catering trucks, Benny’s Tacos offers a menu composed of the usual suspects (burritos, tacos, quesadillas), as well as breakfasts, salads, rotisserie chicken, and vegetarian options. Check out more about their menu and read more here.
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